How to Preserve Transience
Theatre Institute in Bratislava 50th Anniversary Exhibition
This generous exhibition of hidden treasures from the collections of the Theatre Institute, covering a span of 50 years, presents the Institute’s activities as well as a set of precious two- and three-dimensional exhibits. These include, for example, the belongings of some of the most renowned figures of Slovak theatre: Ján Borodáč and Oľga Borodáčová, Magda Husáková-Lokvencová, Lucia Popp, and many others. Moreover, for the first time ever, the viewers of the exhibition are able to see a unique collection of Slovak and foreign historic
booklets. Finally, the section focusing on scenography features precious original costumes, theatre posters, stage designs, and scale models by outstanding Slovak artists.
The exhibition is part of a series of events organised by the Theatre Institute on the occasion of its 50th anniversary and presented throughout 2011 under an umbrella title We Have Room for any Theatre! Vladislava Fekete, the Institute’s director, explains: “The slogan We Have Room for any Theatre! is not a mere phrase. It reflects the long-time effort of this institution to map broadly and correctly the ways of Slovak theatre, to capture its etheral momentsdespite the fact that it is obvious from the beginning that they are only temporal and they last only in the time of their stage presentation. Thanks to the Theatre Institute and its systematic documentation we prolong life of theatre and draw attention to its continuity.”
The exhibition was launched at the Slovak National Museum in Bratislava on 8 June 2011. Nitra is the first stop of this exceptional touring exhibition outside the capital, and can be viewed at the Nitrianska galéria between 21 September and 30 October 2011. During the Divadelná Nitra, Slovak and English guided tours of the exhibition will be available to the participants of the How to Understand Theatre project and to foreign festival guests (on Saturday 24 September).
